A battery cell has been proposed as a clean, efficient and environmentally responsible power source for an electric device such as an electric vehicle, for example. One type of battery cell is a lithium-ion battery cell. Typically, a plurality of individual lithium-ion battery cells is provided in a stacked configuration to supply an amount of electric power sufficient to operate the electric device.
The lithium-ion battery cells are known to generate heat during a charging and a discharging thereof. When overheated or otherwise exposed to high-temperature environments, the heat can impact the operation of the lithium-ion battery cells. Cooling systems are typically employed with the lithium-ion battery cells, as well as other types of battery cells, to militate against undesirable overheating conditions.
Moreover, as the lithium-ion battery cells charge and are discharged, they may expand, wherein such expansion is commonly known as battery cell swell. Battery cell swell can cause a change in a height of the stack of lithium-ion battery cells and to a compressive force being applied to the individual lithium-ion battery cells. Typically, a battery cell assembly includes a compressible component such as a foam layer disposed between adjacent battery cells, for example, to accommodate battery cell swell and maintain a desired height of the stack of the lithium-ion battery cells and a desired compressive force applied to the individual lithium-ion battery cells. Further, the compressible component also facilitates an accommodation of dimensional tolerances of the components of the battery pack assembly.
To provide such cooling systems and compressible components, a complexity of the battery pack assembly is undesirably increased. Further, the cooling system and the compressible component are typically separate components in the battery pack assembly. Accordingly, a cost of the battery pack assembly is undesirably increased.
It is desirable to produce a compressible cooling fin for a battery pack, wherein an ease of manufacturing the battery pack assembly is maximized and a cost thereof is minimized.